European Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčović said the EU would start collecting the first tranche of tariffs on US imports from April 15th, and the second from May 15th.
The EU is imposing tariffs on the US in response to the decision of US President Donald Trump’s administration to impose tariffs on steel, aluminium and cars, as well as a flat 20% tax on other goods from the European bloc.
He said that if negotiations with the US fail to reach an agreement, the EU’s countermeasures to the US tariffs cannot be postponed.
Šefčović added that, sooner or later, the US and the EU will have to sit down at the negotiating table and reach a compromise.
He specified that Brussels is ready to discuss zero tariffs on cars and other industrial goods.
Commenting on the continued decline in the value of shares on world stock exchanges after Trump announced the introduction of tariffs on all imports into America, the EU Commissioner for Trade assessed that this was a black day for global financial markets.
Šefčovič said that developing countries would be hit doubly hard – by the lack of aid and the global introduction of tariffs.
